"Not enough."
"Intermediate Level Mages, even High-level Mages—none of that will be enough to secure my footing within the Mu Clan."
Mu Ning Xue's gaze remained calm, but when she mentioned the Mu Clan, a faint trace of coldness flashed through her eyes.
Qin Yuan fell silent for a moment before asking, "Is returning to the Mu Clan really that important to your branch of the family?"
At his words—
"Why would you say that?" Mu Ning Xue looked at Qin Yuan strangely.
Wasn't returning to the Main Clan the wish of every branch family member?
Her mother was like that, and her father was too. As their daughter, inheriting her parents' aspirations seemed only natural.
Though there were still many things she did not understand.
"It's nothing."
Qin Yuan shook his head and smiled faintly. "Having a goal is a good thing. At the very least, it can become the motivation that drives you forward."
Mu Ning Xue fell silent at those words.
Returning to the Mu Clan?
What she thought of more was Mom...
Sensing the subdued mood, how could Qin Yuan not know what Mu Ning Xue was thinking?
He tightly held her icy hand, raised their interlocked fingers, and smiled. "Don't put too much pressure on yourself. Don't forget, I'll always be here."
"Mm..."
Mu Ning Xue did not deny it, merely responding with a soft hum, quiet as a mosquito.
In her heart, Qin Yuan held an extremely important place.
She had never doubted anything Qin Yuan said or any promise he made. She only believed in him.
"Let's work hard together."
Qin Yuan chuckled softly, a glint flashing through his eyes.
With God's Perspective, he could have told Mu Ning Xue everything regarding the Ice Crystal Brake Bow, allowing her to learn of the Mu Clan's conspiracy early and be on guard.
But there was no guarantee that such caution would not be noticed by the Mu Clan. If they failed to notice, all would be well. If they did, the consequences would be impossible to predict.
Besides, Mu Ning Xue still had Mu Zhuoyun and the other branch family members behind her.
Judging from their conduct in the original story, most of them could share prosperity but not hardship. Keeping such people around was useless.
So rather than interfering early and allowing those "maggots" to escape disaster, it was better to let events unfold according to their original course. Once the time was right, he could step in and tell her everything.
Most importantly, Mu Ning Xue's cultivation was still weak. Knowing too much now would bring her nothing but unnecessary worries.
"The assessment is almost over. I should go."
Mu Ning Xue said this and rose to her feet.
But before she could take a step away, a pulling force came from her right hand. Caught off guard, she was pulled into Qin Yuan's arms.
For a moment, their faces were mere inches apart, as if they could feel each other's breathing.
Their eyes met for a long while, and an inexplicable atmosphere settled between them.
"Go... mm!"
Before Mu Ning Xue could finish speaking, her eyes widened as she stared at the scene before her in disbelief.
Qin Yuan was kissing her!
Yet she did not feel the slightest anger. Instead, an indescribable joy rose within her.
Back when they played house, she had kissed Qin Yuan. Now that they had grown up, Qin Yuan had returned the kiss.
This long-lost feeling seemed rather nice.
Gradually, she closed her clear, cool eyes and quietly enjoyed the moment.
After a long while.
"Qin Yuan, you're pushing your luck!"
Mu Ning Xue glared at Qin Yuan in embarrassed anger.
The kiss had been going perfectly well, but Qin Yuan's hands had started misbehaving. He actually...
"Ahem." Qin Yuan coughed, pretending to be serious, then gave an awkward smile. "My hand had ideas of its own. It was instinctive."
Mu Ning Xue looked at Qin Yuan coldly.
"My hand had ideas of its own"? She did not believe that nonsense for a second.
Touching was one thing, but then he rubbed.
Rubbing was one thing, but then he pinched.
Pinching was one thing... like hell it was!
No matter how mild-tempered Mu Ning Xue was, that sudden pain had nearly broken through her composure.
"Hmph, I'm leaving!"
Mu Ning Xue flung her hand and tried to leave, only to find she could not shake him off.
Left with no choice, she could only drag Qin Yuan along as she stormed off ahead, fuming.
"Heh heh." Qin Yuan shook his head with a smile and did not exert any force, letting Mu Ning Xue pull him along.
The two of them headed toward the training grounds one after the other, like a couple who had just had a little quarrel.
At the training grounds.
By the time Qin Yuan and Mu Ning Xue returned, the magic assessment had already reached its conclusion, ending with the well-connected Mo Fan making a stunning impression.
Because of Qin Yuan—
Mo Fan had not formed any conflict with the Mu family.
Of course, seeing Mo Fan's outstanding talent, Mu Zhuoyun still had Mu He approach him with an invitation, hoping to recruit and cultivate him within the Mu family.
Unfortunately, Mo Fan had always loved freedom and disliked being constrained, so he politely declined.
Mu Zhuoyun found it regrettable, but he was not disappointed.
After all, he had a future son-in-law with even greater talent.
"Went to see Qin Yuan?" Mu Zhuoyun knowingly asked when he saw his daughter return.
"Mm."
Mu Ning Xue did not hide it.
At that, Mu Zhuoyun's face instinctively darkened. The heartache of an old father was hard to let go of.
Even knowing that the two were close and would surely marry in the future, seeing it with his own eyes still made his heart ache.
The precious daughter he had raised with so much hardship had been claimed by Qin Yuan just like that.
"You brat, if you ever dare let Ning Xue down... Hmph!" Mu Zhuoyun shot an unfriendly look at the figure below who had just returned to his place.
Qin Yuan seemed to sense it and looked up, just in time to see Mu Zhuoyun's displeased expression.
The displeasure of a father-in-law meeting his future son-in-law.
"Heh heh."
Qin Yuan grinned, completely unafraid.
"What does this brat mean?" Mu Zhuoyun raised a brow and said irritably, "He stole my daughter away and still dares provoke me to my face? He's infuriating me!"
Mu Ning Xue quietly watched the scene beside him.
She felt that this was nice too.
"The magic assessment has officially concluded."
"The school will divide everyone into regular classes and Elite Classes based on your assessment results. The information will soon be posted on the notice board for everyone to check."
"Now, please leave in an orderly manner."
Principal Zhu stepped onto the center of the podium and announced loudly.
As his voice carried out, the students and teachers gathered on the training grounds dispersed in no time, each returning to their respective classes.
The school's notice board was also quickly covered with class assignment information.
As expected, Qin Yuan was placed in the Elite Class, and he was even ranked number one, symbolizing the most talented mage in the Elite Class.
Over the following months, Qin Yuan continued cultivating diligently.
As for the basic-grade Stardust Magic Artifact assigned to the Elite Class, it was no different from a child's toy to Qin Yuan.
Qin Yuan was not stingy either. He gave his allotted usage time to classmates who needed it and told them not to spread the word.
As a result, Qin Yuan's standing within the Elite Class soared.
Trading a Stardust Magic Artifact that was completely useless to him for the recognition and admiration of many classmates was quite a good deal.
Connections were always better to have than not.
Take Xu Zhaoting from the Elite Class, for example. He was a Lightning Element genius, yet he had Qin Yuan and Mo Fan, two monsters with cheats, above him. It was truly frustrating.
Sure enough, Qin Yuan generously gave Xu Zhaoting his month's allotted Stardust Magic Artifact usage time. Xu Zhaoting was immensely grateful and kept calling him "Brother Yuan" with remarkable ease.
Qin Yuan only felt that "Brother Yuan" sounded rather strange, so he told Xu Zhaoting to just call him by his full name.
Even more worth mentioning was that Mo Fan's Little Loach had transformed after resonating with the White Tiger Vessel Resonance.
Because of that, he had not damaged the Stardust Magic Artifact assigned by the school. Instead, he secretly gave his allotted time to Zhang Xiaohou.
Before you continue